coopersmom
Forums Enthusiast
In tracking, when they say someone is "laying track" for the dogs to scent some time later, what exactly are they laying? I want to find out more about tracking. Are they laying food, or what?
Tracking Question
- Thread starter coopersmom
- Start date
Sorry, but I don't know a thing about shelties and tracking. My first sheltie did track down our hamster when it got away from my foster daughter (she accidentally left the door open on the cage). I put the sheltie's nose inside the cage and told her to get it--she sniffed around the whole house and then stayed with her nose pointing at it, until we got the hamster. She was one of those dogs that you feel you can talk to without words. Hope somebody else can give you more information, but I don't think shelties are used much in tracking, since they are herding dogs.
Caro
Moderator
I asked the same thing because the behaviourist suggested I take Deska tracking. I was told they lay out their clothes and personal items as the aim is for the dog to track the person along the trail of personal items they laid.
Calliesmom
Moderator
GeeRome has been working on tracking- has some info on her blog:
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/search?q=tracking
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/search?q=tracking
"Laying a track" is just setting down a scent path for the dog to follow.
There is some debate among tracking enthusiasts as to what exactly the dog is following. There are two basic theories: 1) that as a human (animal, etc.) walks, it sheds scent in the form of skin cells, bacteria, clothing fibers, etc. 2) that as the human or animal walks, it disturbs bacteria on the ground and stirs it up sort of like dust. So the dog is either following the actual scent of the track layer OR the lingering trail of disturbed ground bacteria stirred up by the track layer ... OR some combination of the two.
Whatever it is, though, doesn't really matter. The dog knows how to do it well! haha
When you are laying a track for a beginner dog, it is often recommended to get some soft treats and rub them on the bottom of your shoes. Take normal strides that aren't too big but aren't tiny either. And walk normally. For VERY beginner dogs, lightly dragging your feet might help, but isn't usually necessary. You can then drop small pieces of treat along the track every couple of steps if necessary to keep the dog's interest and build confidence. But whether you do or not will depend on the needs of the individual dog.
Here are a couple of blog posts I have made in regards to tracking.
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/search/label/Tracking
There is some debate among tracking enthusiasts as to what exactly the dog is following. There are two basic theories: 1) that as a human (animal, etc.) walks, it sheds scent in the form of skin cells, bacteria, clothing fibers, etc. 2) that as the human or animal walks, it disturbs bacteria on the ground and stirs it up sort of like dust. So the dog is either following the actual scent of the track layer OR the lingering trail of disturbed ground bacteria stirred up by the track layer ... OR some combination of the two.
Whatever it is, though, doesn't really matter. The dog knows how to do it well! haha
When you are laying a track for a beginner dog, it is often recommended to get some soft treats and rub them on the bottom of your shoes. Take normal strides that aren't too big but aren't tiny either. And walk normally. For VERY beginner dogs, lightly dragging your feet might help, but isn't usually necessary. You can then drop small pieces of treat along the track every couple of steps if necessary to keep the dog's interest and build confidence. But whether you do or not will depend on the needs of the individual dog.
Here are a couple of blog posts I have made in regards to tracking.
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/search/label/Tracking
Toffee's Mom
Forums Sage
ohhhhh
what a GREAT website, I JUST finally got to this thread ...
I may start a little tracking or something soon.. my GSD loved it, and it sure gives a good work out for a working dog
Thanks for this!
I will be bugging you, aka messaging you about this, if that's ok lol
what a GREAT website, I JUST finally got to this thread ...
I may start a little tracking or something soon.. my GSD loved it, and it sure gives a good work out for a working dog
Thanks for this!
I will be bugging you, aka messaging you about this, if that's ok lol